Wyatt's Story 

For most first-time parents, the days after their child’s birth are filled with joy – especially when those days happen to fall on Mother’s Day weekend.  For Tara and Derek, however, those days were filled with worry.

Their son, Wyatt, was only a day old when Geisinger Medical Group-Patton Forest pediatrician Lela Brink, MD, discovered a heart murmur.

Suspecting Tetralogy of Fallot – a congenital heart disease consisting of four different heart defects – she transferred him to Geisinger’s Janet Weis Children’s Hospital.

“It was hard,” Tara says.  “You see all the other mothers going out with the flowers and their babies, and we were going out with nothing.”

“Everybody goes through a pregnancy waiting for this perfect baby to be born, so it can be difficult,” Dr. Brink says.  “I try to reassure parents that, in this day and age, there’s so much we can do for children who have heart problems.”

At the children’s hospital, pediatric cardiologists confirmed Dr. Brink’s diagnosis.  Wyatt did not need surgery immediately, but he would need surgery to correct the defects when he was a little older and stronger; until then, he would be monitored on a regular basis by the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital pediatric cardiologist located in State College.  Tara and Derek needed to keep a close eye on their young son to make sure he was getting enough oxygen, and they needed to try to limit his crying, which could put stress on his already-fragile heart.

“You think about driving home at night in the dark, with the baby in the back in the car seat,” Tara says.  “If he would start crying, we would need to flip on the light to make sure he wasn’t turning blue.”

“In the long run, this condition can lead to a number of complications, which ultimately could be fatal,” says pediatric cardiologist Fareed Ahmad, MD.  “That’s why the treatment and surgery are so important.”

When Wyatt reached 12 pounds at 4 months old, he had grown enough to withstand the surgery, which would close the hole between the ventricles and open the obstruction of blood flow to the lungs.

“We asked as many questions as we could, and they were so patient,” Derek says.  Doctors drew images for the nervous parents, explaining what they would need to do to repair their son’s heart.

“I can definitely say that the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life is hand him over and not know if I was going to get him back,” Tara says.

They waited for about six hours before hearing the good news: Wyatt had done well in surgery and now was able to move to the Kiwanis Children’s Heart Center, where he would be monitored as he began his recovery.  The center, located in Janet Weis Children’s Hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), is staffed by specially trained nurses and includes specialized equipment – such as cardiac monitors and operating room lighting, both of which were funded by Children’s Miracle Network donations.

Wyatt spent two days in the heart center before he was well enough to move to the infant-toddler in-patient floor in the children’s hospital, where Derek and Tara were able to stay with him in the private room.

“They do so much there to make it as easy on you as possible,” Tara says, noting that they were able to use the computer in the children’s hospital’s family room to update a Web site about Wyatt, letting family and friends know of his progress and gaining strength from their replies.  Wyatt also found some relief in the hospital, playing with toys and watching videos on the Children’s Miracle Network-funded DVD player in his room.

After only five days, he was well enough to go home with several medications, and he healed pretty quickly, his parents remember.

Unfortunately, Wyatt and his parents would find themselves back at Janet Weis Children’s Hospital last year with a different concern.  They had become accustomed to Wyatt’s developing infections because of hypospadius, a secondary and non-heart-related diagnosis involving his urethra, so it wasn’t a surprise when Wyatt developed a fever.  It was a surprise, however, when antibiotics didn’t help and Wyatt stopped walking.

“We just couldn’t get it cleared,” Dr. Brink says.  “I knew his parents and knew that everything that needed to be done was being done, so we needed to go a step further and sent him to Janet Weis Children’s Hospital.”

He was admitted to the children’s hospital again, and an MRI showed a pelvic abscess that was the size of an egg.

“They drained it and found five different kinds of infections, one of which is very dangerous to the heart,” Tara says.  “Had we not caught it, it could have traveled to his heart and killed him.”

As with his heart surgery, Wyatt bounced back quickly from his serious health condition – and he has continued to do well.  Today, he is full of energy and enjoys being a big brother to his sister, Madelyn.

He will need another surgery in the future as his heart outgrows the repair, but he continues to be monitored by Dr. Ahmad, the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital pediatric cardiologist in State College – and Tara and Derek know that, when the time comes, Wyatt once again will be strong. 

His doctors agree.

“Wyatt’s an expert on seeing doctors,” Dr. Brink smiles.  “He’s growing and thriving, and he’ll do great.”